Beers From Beautiful Places: Ska Brewing (Durango, Colo.)

It’s Friday. Yay beer! In our first of (maybe?) many “Beers From Beautiful Places” column we feature Ska Brewing, a microbrewery in the mountain paradise of Durango, Colo.

The brewery is surrounded by the San Juan Mountains, with easy access to endless backcountry skiing, mountain biking and climbing opportunities. Throw in whitewater on the Animas River and you’ve got a sliver of paradise. Nearby ski areas Durango Mountain Resort and Silverton Mountain provide lift-served terrain.

And then there’s the beer. I visited Ska once, and our hosts graciously kept the brew flowing right out of the giant stainless fermenting tanks. Salud! The brewery was the brainchild of Bill Graham and Dave Thibodeau back in 1995. Known for creative craft brews in cans, the Autumnal Molé Stout has a nice 15 IBU’s and a mellow 5.8% alcohol content brewed with three kinds of peppers (guajillo, ancho and hatch green chiles), cocoa nibs, cumin, cloves and cinnamon.

Happy hour is commencing in 3, 2,…—Sean McCoy